Media smear sparks largest media reform campaign in Taiwanese history. Photos taken by You Hai-xiang from vita.tw

On July 25, when NCC was reviewing the WWCT application, Huang Kuo-chang – among a dozen other scholars – protested outside its offices demanding they to turn down the application. They left at 10:30am but at 3pm a group of so-called students with masks on their faces, arrived at Taiwan media regulator the National Communications Commission (NCC) to also protest.

WWCT photographers took some photos showing a woman distributing money to the protest “students”. The photos were published the next day, in the Times Weekly's front page story [zh], ‘Huang Kuo-chang headed anti-Want Want China Times protest, the demonstrators were paid. With whose money?’.

All major WWCT media outlets then opened fire at Huang. Even though Huang Kuo-chang clarified the situation in a press conference [zh] and the woman who distributed the money also confirmed [zh] that Huang did not paid the students, WWCT's six media outlets continued smearing Huang [zh] in the news, editorials and talk shows.

A netizen with sharp eyes found out that the Deputy Chief of Times Weekly, Lin Chao-xin, was among the “student” protestors [zh] and distributed a screenshot online, which was reposted by a student from National Tsinghua Universy, Chen Wei-ting, with a question asking if WWCT were directing the protest behind the scenes.

Want Want China Times tried to set an example by smearing Huang Kuo-chang to intimidate others. That's why it crosses the line so as to deliver the message that those who were against it would vanish. Newspaper, TV and paparazzi joined force to attack and harass, this is power of media mafia, isn't it?

A huge “Media Monster” banner hung outside WWCT's headquarter during the September 1 protest. Photo by Lenin Chang on Facebook.

I don't care if the China Times’ boss is pro-China or famous or wealthy. All these are not the real issue. But when a newspaper attacked a scholar and a student for two consecutive days, it has betrayed the principle of free speech.

A number of singers expressed their opinion. Lin Yoga [zh] invited his fans to reflect upon the issues raised by the ‘You are so Big and I am scared’ campaign. Deserts Chang urged in her concert:

新聞自由跟資訊文化的這東西就是不能用錢被買的。

Please stop Tsai Eng-Meng from purchasing more media companies… Press and information freedom could not be sold.

In order to strive for professional independence, a number of colleague including myself have tried very hard… But there is some backfiring and in order to prevent other colleagues from taking the consequences, I have submitted my resignation letter.

Ho is the founding chairperson of the Taiwan Journalist Association. His resignation indicates the failure of internal reforms and a number of journalists followed his move [zh]. Another China Times journalist who resigned, You Wan-chi, published [zh] her diary online:

Today I choose to leave mainly because the way how they smeared Huang Guo-chang has crossed my line. I worked in China Times for more than one year, the disappointment and emotional stress has been excessive. Even though the salary is a dozen more times higher than other media outlets, I could not find any reason for me to stay.

9,000 people participated in the September 1 rally against media monopoly in Taiwan. Photo by Hung Yiu-nan on Facebook.

More than 9,000 people joined the September 1 rally. The protestors are mainly media workers, students and members of civic groups. They demonstrated outside the headquarter of the WWCT and rallied to NCC demanding Tsai Eng-ming to resign from all media management position. They also called for professional journalistic practice and an anti-media monopoly law. This is the biggest media reform demonstration in Taiwanese history.

Professor Chang Jin-hua from the Center of Journalism and Communication, National Taiwan University stressed [zh]:

We demand NCC to defend a democracy that protect diversity, journalistic autonomy and press freedom. You are not corporates and political parties’ tools. The monopoly of the cable network would destroy press freedom and media workers’ rights. So far NCC has not figured out any strategy to deal with the situation. Instead it allows the media giant [WWCT] to grow. The NCC should introduce an anti-media monopoly law.

Yet after the September 1 protest, the NCC still refused to change in its decision on WWCT's acquisition of China Network System. The flames of fury continue to spread.